Bakka Church

Bakka Church (Norwegian: Bakka kyrkje) is a parish church in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bakka, on the shores of the sparsely populated Nærøyfjorden. It is the church for the Nærøy parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1859 using designs by the architect Christian Henrik Grosch. The church seats about 200 people.[1][2]

Bakka Church
Bakka kyrkje
View of the church
Bakka Church Location of the church Bakka Church Bakka Church (Norway)
60.9175°N 6.8702°E
Location	Aurland Municipality, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Consecrated	11 May 1859
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Christian Heinrich Grosch
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1859
Specifications
Capacity	200
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Nærøy
Deanery	Sogn prosti
Diocese	Bjørgvin

The church is a small, simple building with a 13.5-by-7-metre (44 ft × 23 ft) nave and a 4.4-by-7-metre (14 ft × 23 ft) choir. A 1.7-by-3.4-metre (5 ft 7 in × 11 ft 2 in) chancel contains the altarpiece.[3]

History

The people living along the Nærøyfjord and in the surrounding valley had desired a local church for a long time, to avoid the long journey to the Undredal Stave Church. In the 1820s and 1830s, there was talk of relocating the old stave church to be closer to the population of the parish, but nothing was done. In 1851, the new church law required larger churches for many parishes. At that time new plans were made to divide the parish and build a new church along the Nærøyfjorden in the village of Bakka.

The new church was consecrated on 11 May 1859. Due to its rural, isolated location, the Nærøy parish is one of the smallest parishes in the Diocese of Bjørgvin with only 104 members in 1999. In a normal year, there are about one or two baptisms and about the same number of confirmands.[3]

Media gallery

• 
  View of the church on the shore of the Nærøyfjorden
• 
  Exterior view of the church
• 
  Exterior view, seen from the fjord

See also

• List of churches in Bjørgvin

References

1. "Bakka kyrkje, Nærøy". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
3. Djupedal, Torkjell; Vengen, Sigurd; Gjerde, Anders. "Bakka kyrkje" (in Norwegian). Fylkesarkivet. Retrieved 2020-01-17.